shannon2818

I am an adoptive parent living in Detroit with my family. I am the author of a speculative fiction novel, Antebellum Age, now available through Barnes & Noble. Antebellum AgeCategory: Speculative Fiction, Alternate History Nothing could suppress the utopian ambitions of Eliza and Thomas Young – nothing except for 150 years of authoritarian, racist rule.Continue reading

How to Braid Blond Hair

I wrote the following as a guest post for another blog several months ago. It was never published there, so I wanted to share it here instead. Before our kids came to live with us, they were raised by a wonderful foster family. At the time, my daughter had very long hair and her fosterContinue reading “How to Braid Blond Hair”

Why My Kids Go to a Primarily Black School

Originally posted on Ashleigh Carroll:
Most people know that our kids go to Downtown Elementary, which is a public school here in Memphis that happens to have mostly black students enrolled. This is not an accident. My journey started when John suggested we submit an application for Jac to go to Perea Preschool, which is…

This Week in Detroit

The “beach” at Campus Martius The Detroit Riverfront

The interview of a lifetime

Well, maybe this wasn’t really the interview of a lifetime, but I did get to interview someone that’s made a huge difference for my family: Heather Forbes. If you’ve read my blog before, you know that I am a big fan of Heather’s and her parenting model, Beyond, Consequences, Logic and Control (you can read moreContinue reading “The interview of a lifetime”

Adoption Day 2014

On June 25, 2010, our adoption became legal. The kids and I had dinner and dessert out today to celebrate. We spent a couple minutes sharing our memories from the past four years. I felt good that I finally had some memories to share with them that they didn’t remember. Since I didn’t know themContinue reading “Adoption Day 2014”

Homework Horror

BC is in kindergarten this year and the homework situation is awful. Every Monday he brings home a packet of work that is due on Friday. For him, the work is simple – one digit addition, writing punctuation, and short spelling words like “it” and “can.” I know he can do the work, yet heContinue reading “Homework Horror”

BC’s 6th Birthday

BC had his 6th birthday earlier this month. I keep thinking about when first we met him, he was just over a year old and still learning to walk. He’s still as fearless as he was back then. Earlier this month he delivered a monologue at a school program and the audience loved him –Continue reading “BC’s 6th Birthday”

Thankful

I always make my kids write thank you notes for the gifts they receive, usually for Christmas and birthdays. BE just had her 9th birthday, so we were working on thank you notes for her friends. For the first time ever, I got a thank you note. I was so happy that she was thoughtfulContinue reading “Thankful”

BE’s 9th Birthday

Hard to believe she turned 9 this month! In BE’s words, “just one more year until she’s a decade old.”